Sure, ’tis the season for a hot cocoa or hot toddy, but why not spice up your winter routine with another kind of hot drink? Spicy cocktails long have been a staple at most bars, but creating true craft cocktails requires more than just a few dabs of Tabasco in your Bloody Mary. The right amount of chile can transform an everyday cocktail into a tongue-tingling experience, but it’s also good for your gut. Chock full of vitamin C and antioxidants, chile, when consumed, also will raise your body temperature, and, through a process called thermogenesis, force fat cells to be used as energy. How’s that for natural heat? So do yourself a favor and check out three of these Sacramento-area cocktails that are sure to warm up your winter.

Lahey’s Ghost

(courtesy of Ben Dewey, bartender, Highwater in Sacramento. Serves 1)

Bartender Ben Dewey was just “messing around, wanting to do something with jalapeño,” he says.

But when actor John Dunsworth (who played Jim Lahey on the comedy series Trailer Park Boys) passed away in mid-October, Dewey decided to create a cocktail in memoriam. With the addition of Preservation & Co.’s Ghost Pepper Salt, Dewey created Lahey’s Ghost, a cocktail and homage to the show’s character. The maple syrup softens the jalapeño’s edge, though the fresh pepper offers a bold aroma, and the dissolving salt slowly transforms the flavor of the drink.

Have you ever had salsa so spicy that you were afraid to stop eating it for fear your mouth would catch fire? Well, El Beso Ardiente keeps you sipping for the same reason. This margarita-based cocktail is balanced by the sweet of the Tajín seasoning, but they don’t call it The Spicy Kiss without reason: Your lips will feel the drink as much as your tongue, so gracias a Dios for the chips and salsa.

Sure, The Mirkwood has bite, but mellowed by autumn spices it makes for a perfect holiday cocktail.

“The rosemary really has nothing to do with the flavor, but the aroma smells like Christmas,” admits Alexa Hazelton, who co-owns Milestone with fiancé Nick Dedier. The couple created The Mirkwood, but their staff members, who clearly include ardent fans of The Lord of the Rings, voted on the name.